Fire pit area
A gravel circle, a stone fire pit, and chairs. The best seat in the yard for the price of a weekend.
Size your project then pick a material on each shelf below. Your running total stays at the bottom of the screen and updates as you choose.
Pad length and width in feet (a 12 by 12 pad seats four). Odd shape? Add the rectangles, or enter total square feet as length with width 1.
A fire pit area is a circle or square of 3 inch gravel or decomposed granite inside steel edging, with a stone fire pit in the middle. Non-combustible ground, instant drainage, and chairs that sit level. Size the pad here (a 12 foot circle seats four with room to walk), pick the ground, then pick a pit.
Ground under the chairs
Crushed gravel stays put under chairs; DG packs firm. Both are non-combustible.
Do not forget
How to build it
- Mark the pad, dig out 3 inches, and set edging. Keep the pit at least 10 feet from the house and fences.
- Lay fabric, then spread and level 3 inches of gravel or DG. Tamp DG.
- Set the fire pit on a level spot and put a flat stone or pavers under it if the ground is loose.
- Add chairs and a metal bucket of sand for ash.
Questions
What goes under a fire pit?
A non-combustible pad: 3 inches of gravel or DG on fabric, or pavers. Never wood mulch or dry grass within the pad.
How big should a fire pit area be?
A 12 foot circle seats four with room to move; 15 feet seats six. Figure the pit plus 4 to 5 feet of clearance on every side.
Gravel or DG for a fire pit area?
Gravel drains faster and never tracks dust; DG packs into a firm floor that chairs sit on better. Both are safe.